To the love and pain of Jesus.
In this painting, Jesus looks intently at Jerusalem, not playing with anger but with great sadness. This is similar to a father or mother who sees their child make decisions that hurt them time and time again. Even when offered the care of the shelter, they simply refuse.
Jesus speaks of offering peace and protection. Here he shows us that God's love is not forced. God offers us, insists, calls, seeks, but never forces us. In this painting, Jesus' heart is broken. Not because of rejection, but because of seeing how those people, guided by their own thoughts, get lost and don't accept his love.
This is a clear call for us to return to God, to stop struggling alone and approach the arms of peace and protection that God has open for us. Often, we focus on work and on so many other distractions, like Jerusalem. Our heads fill with noise, and our hearts become disconnected from those who love us most. Today is the day for us to place God on the throne of our lives.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you! How often I longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing!
Matthew 23:37